Sharing, reaching out, and educating patients, families, friends, and the community of Hospice of Southern Illinois. On our blog you will find Hospice of Southern Illinois updates, news, events, photos, and more! Join us!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Are you ready for the egg-citing spring festivities? We are excited to have you be our guest this Saturday, March 31st, when we host the Spring Festival and Egg Hunt at Relais Bonne Eau, Community Hospice Home located at 7325 Marine Road, Edwardsville, IL. The festivities begin at 9:30 a.m. and the egg hunt begins at 10:45 a.m. Hop on over to our growing egg hunt featuring over 5,000 eggs filled with candy and prizes for children to enjoy. Lots of fun activities including games, face painting, and photo opportunities with the bunny will fill the morning. Please call Kathy at 618-235-1703 if you have questions about this event.

The fun doesn’t stop there! During the month of April the festivities continue at Tres Margaritas in Troy, IL, where 20% of your proceeds benefit Hospice of Southern Illinois all month long. You can give back by dining out, something you may already be doing. Don’t forget your coupon (below).

Next, I have to share with you our appreciation of our volunteers from all over Southern Illinois and it is imperative we spring a celebration on them! April 14th we celebrate our Belleville Area Volunteers and April 21st we celebrate our Marion Area Volunteers. Anyone can attend the dinner for $20 if you wish to help us celebrate the time and talent our volunteers donate to Hospice of Southern Illinois. Please contact Susan at 618-235-1703.

Last but not least, concluding the spring festivities is the “Back to the Trivia” Trivia Night on April 21st in Edwardsville, IL. The cost to play is $120 per team of 8. Enjoy a night filled with facts from the past. Thank you everyone for your ongoing support and we hope you can celebrate spring with Hospice of southern Illinois!

Help us share, educate, and reach out by subscribing to our blog and suggesting it to friends who will spread our message: Hospice of Southern Illinois is here to teach you what hospice is, what we are about, and what we can do for you and your loved ones. No one has to go through the dying process alone. Hospice of Southern Illinois can help.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Planning is what we do. We plan our work schedules, social lives, meetings, dinner dates, when we can afford a new pair of shoes, what time to work out and even for special events. If we plan for all of this and more, why not plan for peace of mind? This is the question that really gets me thinking, so I would like to share with you one way to get one more thing checked off your list of things to do, prepare an advance directive, important healthcare decisions.

An advance directive is a fancy way of saying preparing legal documents that “direct” what to do in “advance” before a crisis strikes. In short, an advance directive includes two legal documents that protect your right to refuse or request medical treatment in the even you lose the ability to make decisions for yourself. The two legal documents include the “Illinois Power of Attorney for Health Care” and “Illinois Living Will.”

Our bereavement counselor, Stefanie Hansberry, passed along a wonderful tip that I also want to share that is a great extension of preparing these documents. She encourages people to get a business card sized piece of paper and put it in your wallet. On that card note your name, who your healthcare power of attorney is, their contact information and any other information you see fit. Keep it simple. This allows people around you who may not know your healthcare decisions, in the time of crisis, to know who to call or what to do.Great idea!

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization provides great information that I encourage you to read through when making these decisions, http://www.caringinfo.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3284. Furthermore, this website http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/books/advin.htm provides the documents that can be used to make these decisions. So take one hour to make these decisions, share them with those you care about and give yourself and others peace of mind. We are here to help if you need assistance with any steps along the way.

Help us share, educate, and reach out by subscribing to our blog and suggesting it to friends who will spread our message: Hospice of Southern Illinois is here to teach you what hospice is, what we are about, and what we can do for you and your loved ones. No one has to go through the dying process alone. Hospice of Southern Illinois can help.